Cloud 9... '67 SO42

[BulliBill]

Please be sure to do your research and buy a "C" or better yet "D" rated tire with strong, stiff sidewalls as the engineers at VW required for a heavy and top heavy Transporter. Do not buy anything less... Your life and the lives of those you haul and others on the road around you deserve it. I like the Hankook RA-08 or RA-18 in either a 195 or 185 14" tire. I'm going to be buying a 195 set of five tires soon to replace my old tires on my SO-42.

Nice Bus you have!

Bill
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I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[totemwesty]

Hi everyone...A monumental part arrival today. This Bus has been missing its pop top since I have had it. The previous owner had used it on another SO42 restoration. I had submitted to the fact I may have to use something to just cover the original access cut in the roof. Over the last 8 years I have only seen 5 or so pop tops for sale. They were always incomplete and in various locations, Europe etc. Imagine my thrill to find this repro complete with hinges, canvas, seals, and hardware being offered by another samba member....living only 3 hours from me. It gets even better. After the seller informs me that among many interested parties He has accepted my offer, and by co-incidence has a vacation planned to my town. The pop top was delivered right to the Bus! It should be a great replacement for the missing original pop-top.

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"I set sail for the new world, then I burned down the mast.... It wasn't the first time, and I know it wont be the last..." Bloodkin
'67 Westy Pop Top

[BarryL]

Karma come 'round.

[totemwesty]

Used Illustrator software to create an editable Vector of the Bus and imposed the pop top.

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"I set sail for the new world, then I burned down the mast.... It wasn't the first time, and I know it wont be the last..." Bloodkin
'67 Westy Pop Top

[Pinetops]

That is so awesome about the pop top!
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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[totemwesty]

Hi everyone...a crisp day here with a nice breeze and some new tires to put on the Bus. The rims were in decent shape, a couple dings and some pitting. They are now smooth and received the 205/70/R15 tires well. With regards to load rating they are a 96...1400lbs per tire / 5600lbs total vehicle weight spec.

The 15" rims gave some concern about clearance. They fit inside of all wheel wells and have clearance for travel and turning. They are about the limit for fitting into the spare tire well behind the 2/3 bench seat but the spare fits.

It's great to have new tires on the Bus!

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"I set sail for the new world, then I burned down the mast.... It wasn't the first time, and I know it wont be the last..." Bloodkin
'67 Westy Pop Top

[Pinetops]

It's coming along nicely.
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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[LAGrunthaner]

Your wheels look great are they powder coated or paint?
Sweet pop top too.

[totemwesty]

Thanks LAGrunthaner. The rims are powder coated. Aside from actually being less expensive than painting (at NW Wheel Repair here) it helps smooth out the pitting to ensure seal with tire. I have read up on it in forums here with reguards to the mating surface of the lugs and addressed that. The pop top is great...hoping for a nice weekend coming up to install that next.

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"I set sail for the new world, then I burned down the mast.... It wasn't the first time, and I know it wont be the last..." Bloodkin
'67 Westy Pop Top

[LAGrunthaner]

totemwesty, nice image of your power coated wheels. Did you say it was cheaper to powercoat than paint? Wow send me the company name And yes I read that too regarding the mating surfaces of the lug bolt holes so are you sanding that out? Now I want to know how tires are put on the wheels without scratching the edges of the wheel. In my 20's I used to work in an auto shop putting tires on rims among other repairs (more parts replacement than analyzing) and the tools used on the tire mounting machine are pretty brutal on the rim edges of wheels.

[totemwesty]

Welcome everyone...A friend stopped by to help put up the pop top. The hinges were assembled and hardware inspected, along with the spring tension, seals, and canvas. It was a bit of a chore but worth it to get everything ready and we dry fit it once to make sure all was in order.

Once the pop top was set upon the bus my friend held the hinges down as I raised the top in increments till fully extended. Then I began the process of securing the hinges to the roof. The original Westfalia hinge holes did not line up, though I used the same method to fasten the hinges into the original Westfalia wood hoops. It worked quite well, I added thin rubber grommets between the hinge and roof, and the components drew snuggly together. (note piece of original canvas present)

Next I installed the coping seal. It was also a superior fit. It was neat to see the varying profile along the cut out of the original roof's stamped lip.

There is more work to do inside with hold downs and canvas trim... though upon completion of this phase of the installation I was thrilled to have closed an 8 year missing part gap for this '67 Westfalia!

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"I set sail for the new world, then I burned down the mast.... It wasn't the first time, and I know it wont be the last..." Bloodkin
'67 Westy Pop Top

[SplitBusVanatic]

Awesome thread and great to see the pop top piece of your puzzle come together. Any interior to speak of come with the bus ?

[totemwesty]

Thanks SplitBusVanatic. Unfortunately this is all that remains of the SO-42 kit. The pervious owner stripped everything out for another SO-42 restoration. I am not sure what these components are...perhaps you know or someone can chime in. In addition I looked up the Mcode to decipher the features this bus had originally. I was astonished to learn it had the B42 code. SO-42 Westfalia interior, pop top, side tent, and roof rack. Manufactured January 5 1967, and delivered to New York NY, USA. I am glad the bus has all other major components. All 5 wheels, bumpers, engine, trans, front seats. I have a full length rock and roll bed I will be installing along with some other vintage camp equip that will make for a practical interior. The bed has adjustable width to make room for the Westfalia closet should I choose to pursue a repro interior in the future. It would be a monumental effort to acquire the other B42 components but a goal worthy of the effort as this bus, with all of its delivered equipment is the pinnacle of split buses in my opinion, and THE exact bus I have dreamed of owning for over 20 years.

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"I set sail for the new world, then I burned down the mast.... It wasn't the first time, and I know it wont be the last..." Bloodkin
'67 Westy Pop Top

[SplitBusVanatic]

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1011146.jpg
Click on this link above and you’ll see wheee those pieces are from.

[totemwesty]

Hi all...today I secured the canvas to the bus. It first had to be cut to length. I used the wood bow for reference and added an equal amount all the way around so I could fold it under. This helped ensure strength...and as the original I simply stapled it in. It went well and the only remaining steps are the trim surround and the hold downs. I will wait until the wood headliner panel is in and install trim flush to that. The hold downs will mount atop the trim to finish the install.

Tracing a cut line.

Cut straight in one shot

Stapling around the doubled over seam

In addition I welcome you all to my YouTube channel I created featuring the ongoing restoration of the Bus and the eventual adventures sure to come. I do all of the filming, editing, music, and graphics. It is a fun project and I will continue adding more episodes to the first ones on there.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0SJtMfVN15SB4c4KJAL0dA/featured
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"I set sail for the new world, then I burned down the mast.... It wasn't the first time, and I know it wont be the last..." Bloodkin
'67 Westy Pop Top

[totemwesty]

Couple updates...I got it running. No pics of the engine start as I didnt think it would go well. The engine was laying on its side in the cargo area when I got the bus. I put it in years ago and started it. It smoked out the garage so I thought it was a re-build. Friend mentioned same scenario w his engine...he did compression check and all other things looked good so he let it run and the oil burned off. I did compression, 95 lb all around and every thing else checked out so got it started and same deal. Now starts and runs good. Muffler/exhaust was toast so I got it done this weekend.
Upon removal a baffle held to the heater box tube and luckily got it to free up and pry off.

[img]
The new kit had all the components and every thing lined up good overall. A bit of work to get the pre-heat gaskets / screws in but got it done

A good afternoon project (the heat hoses, tail pipe, etc. are installed but no pic) and now the bus runs and sounds good but....No brakes. The e-brake works and the next thing up is full brake rebuild.

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"I set sail for the new world, then I burned down the mast.... It wasn't the first time, and I know it wont be the last..." Bloodkin
'67 Westy Pop Top

[SplitBusVanatic]

Great work. You’re moving along nicely.
I must subscribe to your YouTube channel also.
All the best.

[totemwesty]

SplitBusVanatic.
I visited your Diesel Split Bus link and was great to see your Bus getting full attention!
Thanks, Good stuff
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"I set sail for the new world, then I burned down the mast.... It wasn't the first time, and I know it wont be the last..." Bloodkin
'67 Westy Pop Top

[LAGrunthaner]

Nice video too!

Link

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American Red Cross Safe And Well:
https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/...bsite.html
Maui Roadsters
www.mauiroadsters.com
http://www.oacdp.org

[totemwesty]

A staggering blow. Set up to repair brakes on a nice spring day. Everything is going well...all the bolts are giving way to 35+ years of crud and rust. Fronts were a quick removal. Passenger rear gave a bit of challenge accessing the line clips and loosening the hard line fittings.

I got the assemblies off and was feeling great....like it was too easy....like why would any one not do this themselves. I was getting ready to start cleaning all the crud and up around the brake area and begin a parts list.

As the RGB oil drained I made the easy call of pulling the 17m plug to fully drain the housing and scan the oil for debris. Then it hit me, hard, like a catapulted anvil.
As the oil puddle began to settle what I thought were air bubbles revealed themselves to be the further-est thing.....BALL BEARINGS!

Could someone reply with what is likely going on inside my RGB's? I am sure it will be beyond me to repair but...Can I remove them to be brought in? Could I finish the brake work and make it the 3 mile drive the trans shop? Any thoughts/ info / ideas...
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"I set sail for the new world, then I burned down the mast.... It wasn't the first time, and I know it wont be the last..." Bloodkin
'67 Westy Pop Top